50 cent - Curtis - Album Review

3.5 out of 5

"Pound for pound I'm the best around", 50 cent claims on Curtis his third LP and second made specifically for the adolescent children who buy his records and still believe that rappers kill each other (oh and the toothfairy).

But why does he actually believe this? It might be because he sells the most records. But this doesn't make him the best just as it doesn't make "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em" the best rap CD of all time. And just as Hammer couldn't do hard (and failed trying) 50 can't do smart or well-rounded for that matter as all the songs on Curtis are about killing, sex, and how much money he has as you would expect from a 50 cent CD.

Maybe then its how much he can switch his style up (and watch the money pile up?). On Curtis 50 tries various different flow patterns other than his normal and ridiculously pathetic fake southern flow but the problem is that none of them work well.

So why the rating after all the hating? Well the production on Curtis is very good and saves Curtis Jackson from comming out like Michael Jackson. The Shady Aftermath team once again does an incredible job in salvaging this album by varying the style of beats to keep the listener interested and by keeping the songs short and blending them together like a mix-tape (why we liked 50 in the first place) so if you don't like one song you won't have to wait long.

Also as with other top-selling artists 50 cent pulls out an A-list mix of guests who all outshine 50 but in doing so make the album better such as Akon on "I'll Still Kill" and the JT/timbo callabo "AYO Technology" (Oh and 50, you lose all credibility when you let a former boy band member write some of your verses).

Though 50 cent on Curtis is a shell of his former self we still have to give him credit for ending Ja Rule's career (thank god) and for "Get Rich or Die Trying" one of the better LP's of this decade and on Curtis it takes a Tony Yayo cameo on "Hands Up High" to remind us of when 50 was good and why we liked him. Shit-talking and punchlines.

See 50 you were never a great rapper (so let's just forget about the best talk) but on your early shit you were funny as hell as you made it impossible for anyone with any self respect to listen to Ja's music, and we loved you for that. And while your handelers may keep telling you how much "They luv da kid" unless you become hungry like that again, or (gasp) show some artistic growth, it won't be for long. Gander On!

30 Seconds of Every Song From Graduation And Curtis

It seems we can't stop posting stuff about Kanye and Fifty, we couldn't sleep on this though. The videos below contain 30 second clips of every song on both artists albums. After listening to Kanye's we're hyped, Fifty's is descent but it sounds like he recycled a couple of bass lines from past hits and his content hasn't really changed, he's either telling you how rich he is or shooting people with hollow tips.

Gander On!

Kanye's Graduation Moved To Curtis' Amusement Park

First it was pushed up and now it's being pushed back. Kanye West's Graduation album has been pushed until September 11th. Coincidentally the same day 50 Cent drops his latest album entitled Curtis which itself has been pushed and pushed. Fifty says he's not moving and that he will outsell Kanye. Get real Fifty, you put out "Amusement Park" and "I Get Money" two songs you have to dig through the internets to find. Meanwhile Kanye put out "Can't Tell Me Nothin" and "Stronger" which already appeared in an Entourage episode(A sign of greatness for us). The only way his theory could possibly happen is if he uses that Vitamin Water money to buy a half million records for himself, oh and we wouldn't put that past him either. Good luck Curtis because in the sampled words of Daft Punk, Kanye's album will be Harder, Better, Faster and Stronger. Gander On!